Antiques Roadshow - Highs And Lows

For the first time ever, a group of items displayed on the 'Antiques Roadshow' program on PBS have been appraised for up to $1,070,000. This is the first time items have been appraised for more than $1,000,000!


The collection consists of four pieces of carved jade and celadon dating to the reign of the Qianlong emperor (1735-1796) in China.

The collection breakdown includes:

Small Bowl - $30,000 to $50,000
Vase - $80,000 to $120,000
Dragon - $200,000 to $300,000
Large Bowl - $400,000 to $600,000

The pieces were inherited from her father, who had been a liaison in the Army stationed in Beijing. While in Beijing, her father became good friends with a Chinese man who had a jade shop.... Whenever her father's friend would come across a nice item, he would offer her father the item first....

I think I would have been a little more excited after hearing the news that I may have just become a millionaire.... I think I would have taken my clothes off and run around the auditorium while pointing my fingers in the air like six shooters and making cute little gun noises (like Sarah Palin does during her speeches)! Pew! Pew! Pew!

Unfortunately for the owner of the collection, after her appearance on 'Antiques Roadshow', the four pieces were sold at an auction for a total of $494,615.

Now that built up this ivory (or jade in this case) tower, I'm left with no other choice, I have to knock it down.... On the British (original) version of Antiques Roadshow, a man brought in a glass bottle for appraisal, which he noted was recently purchased for 1,000 pounds (approximately $1,500 US)....

(Not the actual glass bottle.... I just wanted to include a visualization....)

After examining the glass bottle, the appraiser determined that the bottle was just an empty olive oil bottle from Tesco (Shopping Center) and made in 2008 - and therefore worth nothing....

Gorilla-Faced Piglet

This is the craziest thing that I've seen in a long time.... A pig born in Fengzhang village, Xiping township in China has the face of a gorilla!

The horrifically ugly creature is reported to have a simian jaw, bulging forehead, small snout and eyes that are so close together that they appear almost attached.

Its front legs are much shorter than its back legs, causing it top hop rather than walk on all fours like a normal piglet.

The piglet’s rare condition is thought to be caused by a form of holoprosencephaly, a brain development disorder that can cause cyclopia (the failure of eyes to properly separate).


By the way, if you're looking for a good show to watch, check out 'Weeds'! It's so much more than a show about marijuana.... The show starts with a recently widowed housewife selling marijuana to try to keep her family afloat, but the show has blossomed into so much more.... I just finished the fifth season (all five seasons are available on DVD), and I'm really excited about season six starting later in 2010! Every season just gets better and better!

Do Not Read This Chelsea!

Communists are bad. I joke about Taylor Hicks killing puppies, but the Chinese government has actually killed over 50,000 dogs in the country.

The AP writes in their article:

"China slaughtered 50,000 dogs in a government-ordered crackdown after three people died of rabies, sparking unusually pointed criticism in state media Tuesday and an outcry from animal-rights activists.

Health experts said only 3 percent of dogs are vaccinated against rabies and more than 2,000 people die of the disease each year.

The five-day slaughter in Mouding county in Yunnan province in southwestern China ended Sunday and spared only military guard dogs and police canine units, state media reported.

Dogs being walked were seized from their owners and beaten to death on the spot, the Shanghai Daily newspaper reported. Led by the county police chief, killing teams entered villages at night creating noise to get dogs barking, then beat the animals to death, the reports said.

Owners were offered 63 cents per animal to kill their own dogs before the teams were sent in, they said."

On another communist note - Fidel Castro has a failing pooper and has called his brother to take his place. I'm sure the Cubans are overjoyed.